Cheesy Broccoli, Chicken, and Rice

January 22, 2013

Today, for you all, right here on this blog, I have another easy one pot meal. This recipe is perfect for a weeknight in. Just toss the ingredients into a large skillet and go watch your Sunday night DVR recording of Shameless.

By the way, if you have Showtime, you totally should be watching this show. It is heartbreaking and hilarious at the same time. If you don’t have Showtime, jump on the How I Met Your Mother or Happy Endings or Parks and Rec bandwagon.

I heard a lot of people talking and tweeting about Parenthood. I am going to have to maybe save that one for the summer when all my regular TV shows take a hiatus.

Anyway, back to the food. This dish can be used as a basic template. Instead of rice, you can switch it up with quinoa or any other grain you prefer. Instead of chicken you could use a lean beef or maybe tofu for you vegetarians out there.

And let’s talk about the cheese. I just used sharp cheddar, but imagine a nice creamy fontina or a low-fat mozzarella if you are watching your weight.

We have eaten this twice over the past week. It is a large enough recipe to have leftovers for another meal. I know you guys will love this!

Add olive oil to a large skillet and heat for a minute over medium/high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and then add to the hot pan. Cook chicken for five minutes, tuning each piece once. After five minutes, remove from pan, place on a plate off to the side.

Reduce heat to low, add onion. Sauté onion for three minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add rice to pan, stir for a minute or two to toast the rice.

Pour in the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer with the lid on. Simmer rice for fifteen minutes.

Eight minutes into the rice cooking, add the broccoli to the rice. Cover with lid and continue cooking rice while the broccoli steams.

Add the salt, pepper, paprika, and crushed red pepper flakes to the broccoli and rice. Stir to combine. Add in the chicken and tarragon, stir to combine. Sprinkle cheese on top of broccoli, chicken, and rice. Cover with lid and let stand for two to three minutes, until the cheese melts. Stir the melted cheese into the dish. Serve right away. Reheat in microwave or in a pan with a little bit of warmed chicken stock. Dish will last four days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Sure, you could definitely use brown rice. Just watch the cooking time because it may be different than regular old white rice. As far as the herbs, you can leave out the fresh tarragon and add in any dried herbs you have on hand for some extra flavor.

This looks like such a nice, cozy meal! I love that it’s one pot. Also…glad to know someone else out there is still watching Happy Endings. I’m worried that the fact new episodes are airing both Sundays and Tuesdays means they’re just using up episodes and planning to cancel it!

Yum! We love the broccoli/rice combo in our house! I’m glad you mentioned Happy Endings…I feel like no one watches it! I also watch Parenthood, I think you would like it. Be warned, it’s a tear jerker though. I keep getting excited when I see Shameless on Netflix, until I realize it’s the British version. I’m trying to convince the hubs to get Showtime & HBO…I’m obsessed with Girls! Okay, I’ll stop rambling! I can talk TV all day.

HAHAHA! Me too! I love Girls, so funny. My husband hates it. He keeps saying he just doesn’t get it. We signed up for a free trial of Showtime for a month. We said we were going to cancel it after Weeds wrapped up, then we got hooked on Dexter, then Homeland and now Shameless. I am Stefanie and I have a TV addiction. Real life.

Not sure what channel…We found it randomly one day. I think it’ s the Sci Chan. A new season just started. Ricky Gervais sends his friend around the world, fulfilling other people’s bucket list items. We crack up watching it.